County ABC Board votes to disband

Published: Wednesday, August 21, 2013 at 3:20 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, August 21, 2013 at 3:20 p.m.

The Henderson County ABC Board decided to disband Wednesday, a month after a consultant’s report said demand for liquor sales in unincorporated areas of the county is too low right now to support a sixth package store.

The ABC Board voted unanimously to recommend to county commissioners that it dissolve. Commissioners appointed the five-member board in July 2012 after voters approved a spring referendum allowing liquor sales in unincorporated areas of the county.

But consultants from Martin-McGill found the addition of three new ABC stores in the past three years — in Pisgah Forest, Arden and on Upward Road — has saturated the area liquor market to the point where building another store would jeopardize some existing outlets.

Their report said projected population growth could justify placing a county-run liquor store in Etowah or the Mountain Home area within three to five years.

Chairman Beau Waddell acknowledged commissioners could decide to keep the ABC Board alive, but said there was really no reason to continue, since the board’s only real function was to oversee a county-run ABC store. Board member George Erwin Jr. agreed.

“I said from day one that if it came down to (where) we weren’t going to be building an ABC store — we weren’t going to be moving forward — to me it’s senseless to have an ABC commission,” said Erwin, who made the motion to disband.

At the urging of consultant Dennie Martin, the ABC Board had flirted with the idea of meeting just often enough to meet the state’s statutory requirements, perhaps once a year. But Erwin pointed out the board’s staggered terms of one to three years in length made that basically fruitless.

After consulting with County Attorney Russ Burrell, Waddell said it was clear that “the county commission or a future county commission could at any time reappoint a board” without Henderson County losing its ability to open a new ABC store in the future.

Martin-McGill’s report estimated the county ABC Board would need a minimum customer base of 8,000 to 12,000 people, with strong tourism traffic, to sustain a new package store in unincorporated areas.

The Brevard ABC Board’s decision to open a second package store in Pisgah Forest this summer hurt the viability of a potential Etowah store, board members said.

“That takes care of a segment of the population that previously had been underserved,” Waddell said. “The competition got there before we did.”

Board members spent much of last winter meeting with three other area ABC boards — Fletcher’s, Laurel Park’s and Hendersonville’s — to see if they were interested in merging for the sake of consolidating costs and maximizing sales. None favored consolidation.

“We took our time with this, we were methodical in what we’ve tried to do, we commissioned Martin-McGill to do a study,” said Erwin. “To me, the foundation is set for whatever the county does in the future.”

Board member Rick Livingston said the Martin-McGill study, though controversial, was worth its nearly $9,000 price tag.

“I know there was some discussion or even some opposition to us spending that money to do the study,” he said. “But I think the findings of that study have proven that was a very wise investment and expenditure on our part. Had we not done that study and moved forward (on building a new store), I think there probably would’ve been a lot more money wasted, certainly, than what this study has cost Henderson County.”

<p>The Henderson County ABC Board decided to disband Wednesday, a month after a consultant's report said demand for liquor sales in unincorporated areas of the county is too low right now to support a sixth package store.</p><p>The ABC Board voted unanimously to recommend to county commissioners that it dissolve. Commissioners appointed the five-member board in July 2012 after voters approved a spring referendum allowing liquor sales in unincorporated areas of the county.</p><p>But consultants from Martin-McGill found the addition of three new ABC stores in the past three years — in Pisgah Forest, Arden and on Upward Road — has saturated the area liquor market to the point where building another store would jeopardize some existing outlets.</p><p>Their report said projected population growth could justify placing a county-run liquor store in Etowah or the Mountain Home area within three to five years. </p><p>Chairman Beau Waddell acknowledged commissioners could decide to keep the ABC Board alive, but said there was really no reason to continue, since the board's only real function was to oversee a county-run ABC store. Board member George Erwin Jr. agreed.</p><p>“I said from day one that if it came down to (where) we weren't going to be building an ABC store — we weren't going to be moving forward — to me it's senseless to have an ABC commission,” said Erwin, who made the motion to disband. </p><p>At the urging of consultant Dennie Martin, the ABC Board had flirted with the idea of meeting just often enough to meet the state's statutory requirements, perhaps once a year. But Erwin pointed out the board's staggered terms of one to three years in length made that basically fruitless. </p><p>After consulting with County Attorney Russ Burrell, Waddell said it was clear that “the county commission or a future county commission could at any time reappoint a board” without Henderson County losing its ability to open a new ABC store in the future. </p><p>Martin-McGill's report estimated the county ABC Board would need a minimum customer base of 8,000 to 12,000 people, with strong tourism traffic, to sustain a new package store in unincorporated areas. </p><p>The Brevard ABC Board's decision to open a second package store in Pisgah Forest this summer hurt the viability of a potential Etowah store, board members said.</p><p>“That takes care of a segment of the population that previously had been underserved,” Waddell said. “The competition got there before we did.”</p><p>Board members spent much of last winter meeting with three other area ABC boards — Fletcher's, Laurel Park's and Hendersonville's — to see if they were interested in merging for the sake of consolidating costs and maximizing sales. None favored consolidation. </p><p>“We took our time with this, we were methodical in what we've tried to do, we commissioned Martin-McGill to do a study,” said Erwin. “To me, the foundation is set for whatever the county does in the future.”</p><p>Board member Rick Livingston said the Martin-McGill study, though controversial, was worth its nearly $9,000 price tag.</p><p>“I know there was some discussion or even some opposition to us spending that money to do the study,” he said. “But I think the findings of that study have proven that was a very wise investment and expenditure on our part. Had we not done that study and moved forward (on building a new store), I think there probably would've been a lot more money wasted, certainly, than what this study has cost Henderson County.” </p><p>Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com.</p>